Tragic Day of 9/11 Remembered

As you sit in the quiet of your home today, planning the week out and thinking about tomorrow, take a minute and think about the tragic event of “9/11” that changed the world. Just stop, sit quietly and think.

On this day, September 11 in 2001, the students in the schools across the nation weren’t even born, yet. Still those hours of terrorist attacks on innocent lives left an impact that is comparable to previous dates that you can probably remember. Fortunately, a majority of the population was born and is able to remember the devastation.

What started as a quiet day was quickly filled with shock, rage and anger. As the television coverage across the nation kept changing, we Americans did, as well. Fear was widespread, as were feelings of hopelessness and we knew we would need to unite, as well as find a renewed spirit of patriotism and pride. We were being attacked…on our own home soil…by terrorists.

Some reports say 8:45 a.m. …some say 8:46…the fact that a Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of fuel crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center with the intent purpose of killing hundreds of people while at the same time hundreds of people were being trapped on higher floors with the same fate awaiting them.

When the television cameras arrived it was thought to be a freak accident. However, 18 minutes passed and another plane appeared in what had been a peaceful Tuesday morning sky and turned sharply in the sky, slicing the south tower of the World Trade Center between the 77th and 85th floors.

With the massive explosion that accompanied the collision, burning debris shattered other buildings and the streets below.

America was under attack.

Nowhere was safe.

As the day continued, millions watched the events on television while the terrorist attack continued and a third plane circled Washington, D.C., before crashing into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters. That caused a devastating and deadly inferno which killed 125 military personnel and civilians. All 64 aboard the airliner perished in the event.

It was less than 15 minutes after the collision at the Pentagon the horror continued as the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a rumble of steel falling in a cloud of smoke and dust. Built to withstand winds of more than 200 miles per hour and a conventional blazing fire, the skyscraper could not withstand the tremendous heat which had been generated by the burning jet fuel.

It was 10:30 a.m. and the north building in the Twin Towers collapsed.

Only 18 people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of the collapse survived.

United Flight 93 was a fourth plane involved in the 9/11 event; a California-bound flight that was hijacked 40 minutes after departure from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. Due to a delay in taking off, the passengers on board learned of the events in New York and Washington via cell phones and Airfone calls to the ground.

When they determined they were not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, the passengers and flight attendants planned to take action. It is thought that the passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked them in the cockpit with fire extinguishers. At 500 miles an hour, the plane flipped over and crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Another 44 died on this plane. While it was never determined the destination of the terrorists, theories include the White House, Camp David, or several nuclear power plants on the eastern seaboard.

In that short span of time in history 2,996 people lost their lives. They never saw tomorrow. Many never met their unborn children. No one had plans that included never getting to say good-bye to loved ones. How many did not get to their wedding as planned? There might have been a few that still had a score to settle with someone.

Perhaps, and we will never know, the individual who would discover a cure for cancer or Alzheimer's lost their life, as well as dreams and aspirations, in the event.

We all lost much.

As a preacher friend of mine says, “…now…put your finger right there for a minute…,” and to that it is an opportunity to add another thought.

We gained so much.

Americans came back to life and looked forward to the future and making plans! Strength was renewed…in families, in a higher power, in our neighbor and within our own family. The spark was still there, we had just overlooked it in our “busyness” and schedules. Churches, synods and community centers saw an increase in attendance and support.

Americans stood in line to give blood, food banks worked hard to see that they could assist those who were in need.

When the fires were out, we found our own fire within.

It merely needed rekindling. It was there all the time…perhaps clouded by smoke overshadowing memories.

Perhaps, if we share with our young ones the importance of history and respect for those that made it, we will bring to life within each of us that this is a great nation we live in.

It is times like this that we should also share with the young ones that loving our country sometimes comes with a price - such as 9/11 did. When you’re sharing with them, remember the other important things to remember, especially in September such as Suicide Awareness Month. We remember our POW/MIA/KIA (Prisoners of War/Missing in Action/Killed in Action) on the third Thursday every September. On the last Sunday of September we will honor and remember Gold Star Mothers and Families, those who have lost a son or daughter in the military.

Teach the young, also, to respect the ones who have given their life or fought for their freedom.

You need to start when they are young and they will sprout with generosity, compassion and caring.

We do not know if we have tomorrow.